Wusterhausen and Wust: Part I of the big Photographic Brandenburg Tour

[selenak]

Aka the results of a week spent in the Mark Brandenburg, post the first. I'm putting these not in the order in which I saw them, but in chronological order as they relate to the timeline of our antihero and relations.


( Dear old Wusterhausen: Aka The Hellhole )

On to Wust. Much as Wusterhausen today is called "Königs Wusterhausen" to differentiate it from other places bearing the name, Wust today is "Wust-Fischbeck", as there are other Wusts as well. This one was the family seat of the Katte clan, which is of course why I was there. You can read Mildred's guide here.

Limiting myself to some additional info and pictures, I give you:

( Dead Kattes Galore: the Pictures )

Rheinsberg (& Meseberg & Zernikow): Part II of the Big Brandenburg Photographic Tour

[selenak]

On to Part II. Frederick the Great said as early as the Seven Years War, and several times thereafter, that the only place where he'd been truly happy had been Rheinsberg, the namesake of our community. He was there for only four years (1736 to 1740). Later, he gave it to his brother Heinrich, who lived there for nearly half a century. When Fontane visited in the 1850s and 1860s, he was a bit frustrated that Heinrich by then was nearly forgotten, and the four years of Fritz were all anyone talked about, but I'm happy to report this is no longer the case. Lots of Heinrich stories provided by the audio guide and the inscriptions, though on the downside, the real life castellans are trying to convince you of Frederick's heterosexuality and swear he had a romance with a local Rheinsberg girl named Sabine. (In addition to being a married man, of course; this was the only time Frederick and his wife Elisabeth Christine truly lived together.) Never you mind, though: Rheinsberg!



( Palace of Dreams, Obelisk of Fraternal Revenge )

Now, not far away from Rheinsberg are the estates given to two boyfriends of Hohenzollern princes with very different fates. Say about Fritz what you want, but his taste in long term boyfriends was A plus, whereas Heinrich invariably, with only one or two exceptions, ended up with charismatic money spending jerks. None spent more money than Kaphengst, until at last according to legend Fritz told Heinrich in unprintable language to kick him out of Rheinsberg. Heinrich did this via setting him up with Meseberg, a beautiful palace in which today the Federal Republic of Germany puts its guests of state when they visit for more than a few hours. Meseberg is near enough so Heinrich could visit easily, but Kaphengst managed to run it down and get into debts again, at which point Heinrich had to sell his collection of paintings to Catherine the Great in order to bail him out, though he did call it quits then. Considering the currentn day use and the needs of top security, you can't visit Meseberg from the outside, but you can have a look (and conclude Kaphengst must have been spectacular in bed):

( Meseberg the Beautiful )

Meanwhile, the guy who has the claim of having been Frederick the Great's most long term partner, Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf, starting out as his valet, got the much more small scale estate of Zernikow as soon as Frederick ascended to the throne in 1740, but he made it florish, being the extremely competent organizer and business man he was.

( Competence is sexy, and thus so is Zernikow )

And thus it's time to head back from the province to the capital in this pic spam. On the Part III!

Oranienburg and Schönhausen: Part III of the Big Brandenburg Photographic Tour

[selenak]

Oranienburg, once one of the most beautiful palaces in Brandenburg, had a lot of bad luck. It was sold by the Hohenzollern in 1802, then eventually there was a chemical manufacturer inside for most the 19th century, by which time all the paintings on the ceilings and wall decorations except for one were done for, and in the 20th century, the SS used it as a horse stable. Crowning of the indignity, in the final days of WW II they blew up a nearby bridge, so the palace really was in shambles. Which is why today it's not called "Schloss Oranienburg" but "Schlossmuseum Oranienburg": the restoration did the best it could, but there are limits. With this in mind, here we go.

( Oranienburg and Park )

Schönhausen, the palace where Frederich's unwanted wife Elisabeth Christine lived, and her chamberlain Lehndorff worked, had a somewhat better fate. Though it, too, was (ab)used by the Nazis - in this case, to store all the "degenerate art" paintings they stole or blackmailed from the rightful owners before they were sold off expensively abroad. After WWII, it became until the 1960s the residence of the GDR head of state. Afterwards, it was turned into the official guest house for state visitors to the GDR - like Meseberg for the Federal Republic. All of which means it is far better preserved, though not on a scale with Rheinsberg, let alone Sanssouci. Have a look.

( Queens and Chamberlains await you )

And thus concludes our tour through Schönhausen. Yet to come: Sanssouci! (Where Elisabeth Christine only visited once, during the war, when her husband was not there.)

Sanssouci: Part IV of the Big Brandenburg Photographic Tour

[selenak]

And now, of course, for the crown jewel: Sanssouci! Here, too Mildred has already written a guide, which I urge you to read. As for my impressions: In general, how can you resist this:



More detailed observations to follow.

( Sanssouci: Main palace and immediate surroundings )

In order to go inside, you have to book a ticket well in advance, especially in Corona times. Then you get to see this:

( Sanssouci: Inside the Palace )

In a separate building: The painting gallery, which was always open to the public. The paintings Frederick collected first ended up in the Alte Gallery, then in Russia (well, some), then back in Berlin again. The current collection isn't quite what was there in his life time, but at least some of it, including some Rubens, Van Dycks and a Caravaggio:

( Picture this! )

The painting gallery is one one side of the main palace. On the other are the New Chambers, and in some distance, the wind mill.

( New Chambers and Mill )

The Neue Kammern, however, weren't enough re: guest rooms, what with Prussia now being a new European super power, and thus the last addendum within Frederick's life time: the New Palace, das Neue Palais. FW4 and later some of the Imperial family in the 19th century lived here during the summer, and Friedrich III., the big "what if?" of German Emperors, died here. Thus there is a liiiittle bit of non-Rococo, but mostly the Frederician Rococo has been preserved. Now, by the time the New Palace was built, Rococo was old fashioned and going out of style, and neo classicism started to arrive, big time. Not for our man Frederick. He was going to have his Rococo in all its playful opulent glory!

( Neues Palais: Rococo Finale )

Not far from the Neues Palais is the "Temple of Friendship", which Fritz built in memory of his sister Wilhelmine ten years after her death.

( Temple of Friendship )

So remember everyone adoring the "Chinese" style? This usually, if you could afford it, led to "Chinese" tea houses. If you are Fritz, your Chinese Tea house looks like this:

( Understatement is for wusses )

Wartensleben genealogy

[mildred_of_midgard]

Alexander Hermann von Wartensleben
Hans Hermann von Katte's maternal grandfather. Prussian field marshal (the highest rank in the army).

Under F1, a member of the Three-Counts Cabinet, also called the Three-Ws (Die Drei Wehs), consisting of a Count von Wartenberg, Count von Wittgenstein, and Count von Wartensleben (Hans Hermann's grandfather). They were very politically influential until 1710, and raised tons of taxes to pay for F1's expenses. Including this little gem: "Young girls had to pay a 2 groschen maiden tax per month on their virginity."

Finally, plagues and famines and such hit, and there was no more money, and the cabinet had to be disbanded three years before FW became king. Wittgenstein was arrested for dishonesty, and apparently Wartenberg also saw his position as a way to line his pockets. Either the only honest man among the three, or the only one smart enough not to get caught, was Grandpa Wartensleben. Who continued to enjoy royal favor, if not the same level of political influence, under FW (notwithstanding having to pay for the executioner of the grandson he practically raised).

Friedrich Ludwig von Wartensleben
Son of Alexander and thereby half maternal uncle of Hans Hermann. (He and Katte's mother had different mothers.) Born in 1707, making him 3 years younger than his nephew Hans Hermann, because Grandpa Alexander was procreating until he was 60 years old.

Died on January 5, 1782.

Title: oberhofmeister/grand-maître. One source says he was the grand-maître of the house of the dowager queen, widow of Frederick the Great, but if both Wikipedia and Lehndorff have him dying in early 1782, and Fritz didn't die until 1786, that must be wrong.

Anyway, all evidence points toward him being the sugar-hoarder. If Kloosterhuis is right that Hans Hermann spent most of his time growing up with his grandfather, and Friedrich Ludwig was only three years younger, I would say this argues for Hans Hermann and sugar-hoarder knowing each other quite well!

Friedrich Sophus von Wartensleben
Alexander's other son named Friedrich, born in 1709, so only two years after the previous son named Friedrich, who seems to have gone by Ludwig/Louis to reduce confusion. Ended up as envoy to Copenhagen and Stockholm under Fritz.

Shows up in other Seckendorff's journal as 1) the guy who keeps saying Fritz is totally fucking EC and thinks his wife has a hot ass, 2) the guy Fritz can't stand.

Leopold Alexander von Wartensleben
Youngest son of Alexander, born 1710. Part of the Rheinsberg circle, made it onto Fritz's "6 most loved" list, and apparently, the only person in 1739 whom Fritz liked whom FW didn't immediately hate on those grounds.

I have this description of him:

The King has extreme jealousy against his son, making German quarrels (querelles d'Allemand) with anyone he believes in any particular connection with him. There is only one person who is excepted from the rule; and it's a very rare phenomenon. This person is the youngest of the Counts of Wartensleben, a tall, well-made man, discreet, modest, wise, honest, with very good sense, but who speaks little, and who, moreover, has no place of brilliance. With all this he found the secret of becoming an almost declared favorite, both of the father and the son, although in a much more marked degree with the latter, without the King, who is aware of it, taking umbrage. Finally, it is this honest man, who is the Prince's sole confidant in matters of some consequence, and who dares to speak to him frankly. Wartensleben is like (comme) the friend of his heart.

ETA: This means you should ignore any previous comments I made about one of the uncle Friedrichs being on the 6 most loved list. Clearly my past self was confused by ALL THE FREAKING WARTENSLEBENS.

Heinrich's favorite
I can't tell! All of Alexander's sons are dead by 1782, and we're probably looking for someone of the next generation anyway, rather than someone a generation older than Heinrich. selenak, would you be so kind as to check the Lehndorff index next time and see if there's a first name given? One of the Lehdnorff volumes is really good about naming first names and relationships in the index, so hopefully this one is as well.

My best guess at present is the son of Fritz's favorite by the same name, Leopold Alexander (1745-1822). He's a lieutenant general by the end of his life, joins the Prince Heinrich regiment at Spandau in 1790, and as far as my clunky German can tell, he gets a pension left to him in Heinrich's will, which is then passed on to his wife and daughter after he himself dies.

Would be fun and totally in character if Fritz and Heinrich had favorites who were a father-son pair with the same name. :P